a look back at 2010 (and tiny peek into 2011)

I love music. I go to a lot of concerts. This is my attempt at trying to remember all the great shows I went to in 2010, and the ones I'm looking forward to this spring. Here we go!

January 2010 started off with a bang when Kid Cudi came to town. Minus the onslaught of openers which lasted way too long it was a fantastic show. "Daps and Pounds," "Pursuit of Happiness," and "Day N Night" were most definitely the highlights from the show. Now that he's more mainstream, I'm sure it will be hard to get him in an intimate setting like the Michigan Theater again. January also brought the 33rd Folk Festival. Highlights were for sure Iron & Wine who played some of the most gorgeous music my ears had ever heard. Also, Richie Havens who is always superb (and I got to meet him again!), Rosanne Cash, Ben Gibbard & Jay Ferrar, and discovering the high energy folk/bluegrass band from Philly, Hoots & Hellmouth.

In March I got to see the AMAZING Avett Brothers, with the also awesome Low Anthem opening. If you ever have the chance to see the Avett Brothers, for the love of all that is holy GO SEE THEM. They're headlining the first night of this year's Folk Festival and I couldn't be more excited. I also caught the Low Anthem on their headlining tour that came through Ann Arbor. If you're not familiar with them, they make the most beautiful songs with some old and sometimes unconventional instruments (they featured a saw on one song). For sure check out their first two albums "What the Crow Brings" and "Oh My God, Charlie Darwin".

October was an absolutely fantastic month for music in Ann Arbor, it was too bad that my midterms coincided with some of the concerts so I sadly had to miss out on a few good ones. But I was still able to catch a lot and made my ears ridiculously happy. I was able to see one of my favorite bands from the last couple years when Ra Ra Riot came back to Ann Arbor to play the Blind Pig. I absolutely love them, and they always seem to put on a fantastic show (based on the 2 times I've seen them haha). I also was able to see Arlo Guthrie again at The Ark, as well as Joe Pug with Vandaveer opening. Vandaveer was probably my greatest discovery this year and I was completely obsessed for months after seeing them play. Joe Pug is another one of my favorite artists to see live. He's gotten much much better at performing since he was given a one song slot at the Folk Festival a few years ago. This time instead of playing by himself, he was backed up by a pedal steel and upright bass. The version of "Hymn 101" with the pedal steel accompaniment was mind blowing (mostly because I may or may not have been nursing a significant obsession with the pedal steel at the time) but still, it was a great show.

By far the absolute highlight of 2010 was seeing Bob Dylan play at Hill Auditorium October 28th. My mom and I splurged on great seats in the 11th row and were not disappointed at all. He was in a great mood and played straight through for almost 2 hours. He played many songs from his newer albums, but threw in some of my favorite tunes, including "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat," "Simple Twist of Fate," and the highlight for me was "Desolation Row." I was able to sneak into the front row for the encore and Bob and I totally had a moment where he looked right at me and smiled. Swoon. Hands down one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

Finally November and December brought The Weepies, Josh Ritter, and The Carolina Chocolate Drops to the area. I liked The Weepies well enough before seeing them in concert, but after seeing them play live, I'm completely enamored with them and hope they don't take another 4 year touring break. Josh Ritter was absolutely fantastic and adorable and had a huge grin throughout the whole show. I definitely will not be missing seeing him play again if he's playing anywhere close. The Carolina Chocolate Drops were totally amazing as well. You will not be disappointed by their show at all. In addition to hearing some great music you get little music history lessons in between songs that (if you're anything like me) will make you want to go spend hours at the record store looking through old jazz, bluegrass, and blues records. Other notable 2010 concerts included Abigail Washburn, Jackie Greene, and Ray Davies of The Kinks. I probably forgot some, but I can't remember where I packed all my ticket stub souvenirs. Sigh.

2010 was a fantastic year for music in the Ann Arbor area. With the 34th Folk Festival and Robert Plant coming in January, Jeff Beck coming in March, and a host of other shows in between, 2011 is looking pretty good. :)